AAMC Statement on Passage of Full Committee FY 2027 Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill

• Press Release

AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, issued the following statement regarding the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) spending bill, which passed the House Appropriations Committee:

"The AAMC commends the committee for new resources the bill would provide for medical research and health workforce programs - two important areas for improving the nation's health. However, we strongly urge the committee to reconsider and reverse its proposed cuts to and limitations on other critical health priorities.

Specifically, we appreciate that the bill would preserve funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - which would support continued innovation, progress toward medical breakthroughs, and healthier communities nationwide - and that the bill would preserve parameters for NIH's use of forward funding of multiyear awards. Additionally, the bill's continued and increased investment for most of the Health Resources and Services Administration health workforce programs, including the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program, the National Health Service Corps, and most Title VII and VIII programs, would help improve access to health professionals nationwide. These crucial, evidence-based programs facilitate the training of future health care practitioners across multiple disciplines, enhancing health care delivery, including within rural and historically underserved areas.

However, we are concerned that the bill's proposed cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, elimination of the HRSA public health training centers and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and rescission of funding from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund would be counterproductive. Additionally, a number of the bill's policy provisions would undermine lifesaving research, the patient-clinician relationship, health preparedness, and workforce development. At a time when the community already faces avoidable delays and disruptions associated with appropriated funds in the current fiscal year, timely completion of a bipartisan spending bill is especially essential.

As the appropriations process advances, the AAMC urges lawmakers to work expeditiously to pass a bipartisan spending bill that invests in critical programs and agencies that improve the health of patients, families, and communities nationwide."